Rabbit Island Breakdowns

We were pushing 900 submissions as of noon today, but in case you missed this…

Elephant Run District will be holding auditions for the new play Rabbit Island by Chris Harcum (www.chrisharcum.com) to be produced in the 2012 New York Frigid Festival at Under St. Marks and directed by Aimee Todoroff (www.aimeetodoroff.com).

Auditions will be by appointment only on Oct. 9th.

Play Description:
“Alex zig-zags irregular relationships with an erratic therapist, his off-again, on-again girlfriend, an untamed burlesque dancer and The Cleanse. But what more will it take for this verbose Canadian Mime to become a real New Yorker? When life sucks as bad as your mental health, go to Rabbit Island!”

Breakdowns-
Alex: late 20’s-mid 30’s, male- a Canadian Mime searching for meaning, overly nice, passive and eager to please. Actor must have strong physical skills (mime experience helpful but not required). This is a speaking part. Actor strips to underwear. Actor must be willing to delve into scatological subject matter with humor and heart.

Karen: late 20’s-mid 30’s, female- Alex’s off again/on again girlfriend, intelligent and independent but struggling with her own issues of disappointment and self-loathing. Actress must also be able to bring warmth and empathy to scatological situations.

Bob: forties, male- Alex’s unconventional therapist, off beat with questionable motives, Bob likes to play power games with his clients and always seems to have something up his sleeve.

Barbara: mid 20’s-early 30’s, female- a manic commercial actress and part time burlesque dancer and roller derby girl, she is impulsive, damaged and needs to challenge the people around her. Actress will not need to perform burlesque.

The Assistant: Can be male or female, any age, The Assistant creates the world of the play by manipulating the set & other actors. This is a non-speaking but vital role with a lot of stage time. He/She will dictate the pace and tone of the entire production- Magic, Burlesque, Clowning or similar skill helpful but not required.

Rehearsals will be evenings and weekends, approx. 70 hours mid January to late February for 5 performances in the New York Frigid Festival, Feb. 22- Mar. 4 (www.frigidnewyork.info).

To submit headshots and resumes for consideration, e-mail: elephantrundistrict@gmail.com or find this notice on Actors Access.

AEA Showcase Code- Approval Pending
$200 Stipend

Spent most of Sunday with Cyrus, above left, and Joel, the writer and director of a short film titled Patriot at Bergen Beach Studios (Cyrus's living room) overdubbing where sound issues are bad. It isn't easy. You can match the rhythm and pitch of the line, if you're lucky. It's getting the vocal performance to match and synching the overall timing that's a bear.

After a couple of hours of not being able to get 5 measly lines spot on, despair began went through me in waves. If I knew when we shot I'd be in that mess later, I would have performed differently. Maybe I'd've scratched my nose before saying each line. Also, I thought I must have a voice in bad need of an overhaul if I couldn't get it to sound present to a wireless mic pinned to my jacket. There was a lot of wind and, because we were at a market in Chinatown, there was a lot of loud chatter in Chinese off screen.

Turns out the mic I had was bad. Joel had as many problems in the next scene when we switched. I'm curious how the film will be once it's done. It looks pretty good. We shot at some cool locations you can only get in the city. It hinges on me through most of it and I only was privy to part of what the bigger film will be. Hopefully, I'll be interesting enough to make people want to know what happens next.

I don't have as much experience as I'd like on film. Seeing yourself is always a shock. There's one moment shot from over my right shoulder and I look a lot like I've suddenly turned into my dad. Growing up, people would comment all the time how much I didn't resemble him.

At one point, I couldn't help saying, “wow, I'm weird looking.”

Joel kindly said, “you're very watchable.”

Cyrus added, “yeah” as if the truth of all truths had been spoken.

“Which one is it, Cyrus?”

Silence. I see now why on-camera talent starve themselves and get plastic surgery. It's consistent protection. But I guess weird and watchable isn't such a bad thing to be.

This was also an exercise in confronting one of my defense mechanism. I have a type of perfectionism that's a blend of striving for excellence (good) and ripping myself apart before anyone can get to it (bad). The latter is part survival mechanism and part need to please.

The one really unexpected thing is that the extremely cold temperatures while shooting do not translate. It looks like spring. So while we were in real pain, it looks picture perfect. This was the main issue with the shoot and you'd never know it. On the plus side, there were less people out in that bad weather.

I've always wanted a career in independent film. Something that is nearly impossible to achieve or sustain. If nothing else, it was nice to be a tourist in this area. I hope to learn the language a little better and visit again soon.

I don't have much of a bucket list. I don't a big list of dreams. I do get feelings that I must do certain things before I don't have a chance to do so anymore or I get a mild case of regret.

Each year, I have the intention of seeing the Big Apple Circus when it plops down at Lincoln Center. This year, Aimee and I watched the documentary series on it instead. A good 40% of invites for shows on Facebook pique my interest but I can't follow through because of the work/creation/rehearsal/random obligation tornado that happens each week. And I feel bad. So much so, I've been thinking about making a spreadsheet of shows I've seen and not seen to be accountable to friends and colleagues I respect. Maybe that's going too far.

Last month, Aimee got me to go out on a horse for the first time in my adult life. I have vague memories of riding in a circle atop a horse under extreme supervision. This was different.

We went to the stables out in Brooklyn. Aimee got a feisty horse named Bingo and I got a former race horse named Invisible, pictured above. We went for a guided ride through the park, led by a young woman who said she did 6 rides during the busy days and only 1 or 2 in the winter.

The most stressful part of the ride was crossing the multiple lanes of Ocean Parkway. A fire engine went off and Invisible started to bolt. My guide said he was reacting to my nervousness. While that was irritating, the rest of the ride was enjoyable. Deep in the park, we picked up the pace and I had my first tangible understanding of what horsepower means.

Maybe I should make a bucket list. For some reason, I can only think of kayaking to put on it.

Wound up in a section of the Upper East Side I haven't been in years. Had those reverse deja-vu feelings you get when you know things are different but you can't remember what was there before. There were several of those glass buildings twisting and squating over smaller brownstones. I assume they are designed and made so that eventually the brownstone can be removed and the glass monster can fill in.

Center Stage and the Wings Theater go away this month. I've spent time in both but not as much as others who must ache over this. I know the folks from the Ohio are moving into the Wings but it still is a shame. It's a shame the Ohio had to close too.

The bodega above is on 2nd Ave in the East Village. It was hard to believe when I saw it boarded up. Seems like cell phone stores, nail salons and American Apparel stores are the most likely candidates to slide into the vacant locations.

Aimee and I were hometown tourists last night when we ate at Elaine's, which will close next week. Totally unnecessary on our part but I didn't want another thing go away and wonder what I missed. While we enjoyed it, I am sure we didn't truly experience it.

Some days it feels like everything needs saving. Every email is a request for help. I'm a little numb to it and I feel kinda awful about it.

I know everything changes. They say the road to happiness is accepting this. It's just sometimes the happiness is crappier.

I was asked by Edward Daniels, a friend from my University of Virginia days, to travel down to the Warehouse Theater in Washington DC to be a guest judge for Monologue Madness, an acting competition he created. It was a great time. Like the NCAA basketball tournament, this was divided into rounds and the actors competed in pairs until there was a final 4 and then a victor.

It began with a comedy round with 54 actors. Some had placed high enough to go ahead to the next round. They had 1 minute to do their pieces. At 50 seconds, they were given a warning and then the stage manager would call “time” if they went over. The second round, with 32 actors, was dramatic. The third round of 16 was classical. The fourth was a cold read of an Eric Bogosian monologue. The final 4 were given an adjustment to one of their earlier monologues. We scored each 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest.

It went by fast and took less than 4 hours. Even if a piece wasn't well prepared, it was entertaining. The audience was receptive and supportive of everyone. For me, it was nice to see that many actors I didn't know.

Some things about doing audition monologues held true. Never sit in a chair, unless you HAVE to do so, especially when doing comedy. No one wants to see an actor doing their prep. Jump in. Swearing is more common but some things are offensive, no matter what the words are used. And actually working, rehearsing and repeating your piece 200 times gets you further than thinking about your piece.

Some of the most talented people were not as prepared as others and only made it half-way through. A 9-year-old girl made the final 4. I think the people who put in the most hours of rehearsal were the most liberated.

More info: monologuemadness.net.

Yesterday I awoke to the aggressive crunching, drilling, scraping, shouting, shoveling and truck beeps that come with trees being planted on my street. Without warning. Part of Mayor Bloomberg's Million Tree project.

I can attest that at least 12 have been used so far. It's nice but I'm glad it's not a daily process.

This morning, the fourth day of spring, brought a gentle dusting of snow on parked cars and the ground. The path in the pic above called to me saying it was probably the last time I'd live enough close to it in this condition to slip in for a quick hike, but I needed to hustle in order to be productive and industrious today.

The grapple between winter and spring is such a metaphor for so many things orbiting me right now. You know how you get that feeling of dread right after 60 Minutes is over? You think, “I could use 1 more day.” That's how I feel about this last 6 months.